What the Heart Wants (Sirius Black Love Story)

Chapter 21

Sirius groaned and forced his eyes open to glance at his watch, unsure of what had woken him up. It was still pitch black in his room, and it took a moment and some squinting for him to read the time. 1:47am. He grumbled to himself but rolled over, relieved that he still had plenty of time to get some more sleep. He was just beginning to drift off again when a sound from down the hall brought him, once again, to full consciousness. He sat up and rubbed his eyes tiredly. The sound came again, louder this time, and Sirius frowned deeply as he recognized it. He slid out of bed and pulled on a pair of pajama bottoms before slipping quietly out of his room and down the hall to Sadie's.

He opened the door carefully and poked his head into the room. Sadie was breathing heavily and fidgeting in her sleep, letting out the occasional whimper or incoherent mumble. Sirius shut the door behind him quietly and crept to the side of her bed, crouching down and laying a gentle hand over her own.

"Sadie Mae," he whispered. "Sadie, wake up." He reached out to brush a strand of hair out of her face. At the contact, Sadie suddenly sat bolt upright, gasping for breath and looking around wildly. Her eyes landed on Sirius, and she froze, chest still heaving.

"S-Sirius?" She questioned hoarsely.

Sirius gave her hand a squeeze. "Hey, Sadie Mae. You're alright. It was just a nightmare."

Sadie's lower lip began to quiver, and she squeezed her eyes shut in a futile effort to stop the tears from flowing down her cheeks. Sirius immediately joined her on the bed and enveloped her in his arms. She let out a quiet sob into his chest, taking deep, strained breaths to try and calm herself. Sirius pressed his lips to the top of her head and murmured soothing words. Without realizing it, he had begun to rock slowly side-to-side. After a few moments, she had calmed down to the point of sniffling quietly.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Sirius asked softly. She sniffed and shook her head. He sighed but nodded in resignation. "Alright. Let me know when you're ready." He kissed the top of her head once more before laying down, her head still resting on his chest, and pulling the blankets over them. "I'll be right here. Try and get some more sleep, okay?" Sadie nodded and wiped at her eyes. Sirius fought to keep his eyes open, wanting to stay awake until she was asleep. Fortunately, it only took a few minutes for her breathing to even out, save for the occasional shuddering breath, and Sirius allowed himself to join her in sleep.

The rest of the winter break passed at a snail's pace for Sadie and her friends, but they eventually found themselves on board the Hogwarts Express headed back to school. Sadie and Gideon had been fortunate enough to find a compartment all to themselves. Gideon was laying with his head in her lap, intently focused on the book he was reading. At one point, Sadie finally looked down at him with a smile.

"What are you reading that's got you so focused?"

Gideon's eyes flicked up to meet hers briefly. "It's about countering dark curses," he answered quietly. "If I'm going to become an auror, I need to get serious about preparing for NEWTS and training."

Sadie nodded in understanding. It made sense that he was suddenly so committed. She knew that he was itching to avenge his mother. She has a feeling that he and Fabian had doesn't many hours since Christmas Eve coming up with various plans to find Bellatrix Lestrange. Sadie swallowed her worry and forced herself not to think about it. It wasn't her job to police him. It was her job to be supportive and offer whatever she could to make him happy.

Almost as though he had read her mind, Gideon sat up and set his book aside before turning toward her and kissing her fiercely. She let out a small gasp of surprise, but her arms went around his neck automatically, and she quickly gained her senses and kissed him back. He nipped at her lower lip, and his hands couldn't seem to touch enough of her at once. One moment they were tangled in her hair, the next running up and down her back, and, finally, gripping her hips tightly as he let out a low growl and yanked her into his lap with her legs resting on either side of him.